a us government shutdown looms, as 38 republicans are among lawmakers who've rejected a spending bill backed by donald trump. welcome. the french president praises an american delegation has arrived at a venue in damascus for the first, formal diplomatic talks gisele pelicot for her courage in syria in more than a decade. the diplomats will meet representives of the group which is effectively in charge of the country after overthrowing president assad. labour grandee lord mandelson is expected to be named as the uk's next ambassador these pictures show what's thought to be their convoy, outside a hotel in damascus to the us. which is often used by diplomatic visitors to syria. washington still designates hts welcome. as a terrorist group. but delegations from the un and countries including the uk, france and germany have already been in damascus to meet the new leaders. the united states has set conditions before it will in syria in more than a decade. the diplomats will meet consider delisting the group. representives of the group overthrowing president assad. our middle east correspondent lina sinjab has more on this. it is very significant, not only for the leadership outside a hotel in damascus that is in charge of syria now but also for the country 00:00:59,427 --> 2147483051:37:14,427 and the people inside 2147483051:37:14,427 --> 4294966103:13:29,429 the country because it's

which is often used by

i think the key issue of where they can exert pressure is sanctions. 90% of the population on the poverty line, 50% of area is completely destroyed by asad's air strikes. there are refugees who would like to come back to syria but they have nowhere to say. there are nojob opportunities. i think sanctions is the main thing for this leadership to maintain

power. one to lift the sanctions imposed by the eu and the us, they want to perform in accordance to what the people want here, and inclusive government and the government that protects minorities, but also this is what the west is telling them as well. that is also another issue, for them as also another issue, for them as a group, hts are designated terrorists both in the us in the uk. what they are going to perform will also help them be delisted, which will also enable the flow of money and aid into the country. mina al—oraibi is editor in chief of the national newspaper in the uae, she gave me her analysis of the perception of hts in the region. as many capitals around the world look at the developments in damascus, there are questions whether hts is trying to rule syria on their own.

it is important to recognise that there are other opposition groupings that have been in opposition to basher al—assad for many years and they need to be given space. there is questions about the islamist background of hts. we have definitely seen a lot of statements from the head of hts saying we want to rule in a way that is democratic or at the very least open to others. however, there is concern as to what that will mean in place, given that the cabinet is largely formed of members of hts. they have gone ahead and started to appoint governors of different provinces in syria which are very much aligned to hts. it is wait and see. it is interesting to see american diplomats in damascus and previous to that british diplomats and the un envoy at meeting with hts.

the overall thinking in the region is to try to bring in the leaders sitting in damascus today and press upon them the importance of being, not only inclusive but also looking forward to rebuild the years and decades of damage inside of syria. we know that hts were in control of large parts of the ad—libbed region of syria, what did we learn from the way they ruled and governed over that area? there wasn't much tolerance for those who didn't adhere to what hts put out there, so there is some concern about that. but there was also a sense they were able to govern idlib province despite being isolated and in a constant state of war with at least two other groups. so they were able to govern but idlib was much smaller than syria and they were under great strain there.

the question is, first of all moderate their previous islamist positions? and will they govern in a way that allows people to live the way they want? syrians have taken to the streets demanding that it remains, not necessarily secular but a civil type of governance, rather than one that is ruled by a religious decree. much more on syria on our website. let's turn to ukraine. russia has launched a massive air attack on ukraine, with at least 25 civilians injured and three killed in kyiv, kherson and kryvyi rih, the president zelensky�*s home town. russia has used artillery, including ballistic missiles, ukraine's defence says. critical infrastructure has been damaged, leaving thousands without public transport

and electricity, to the united states, and president—elect trump is mounting pressure on congress to pass a federal spending bill in an attempt to avoid a government shutdown within hours. the first attempt to pass a federal spending bill was heavily defeated in congress but donald trump has since taken to social media to urge congress to scrap what's known as the debt ceiling, or extend it to 2029. despite donald trump originally backing the bill, 38 republicans broke rank and voted against it. it failed to reach the required two—thirds majority. now we are waiting to see if a second vote on friday, which would requirejust a simple majority, will happen, and if it does — will it receive enough support to pass with such a slim republican majority. the speaker of the house mike johnson blamed the democrats after the first vote. it is, i think, really irresponsible for us to risk a shutdown over these issues and things they have already agreed upon. i think you need to be asking

them the questions about that. we will regroup and we will come up with another solution so stay tuned. as for the democrats, they're blaming what they call the maga republicans, who they say went back on an agreement. one or two puppet masters weigh in and extreme maga republicans decide to do the bidding of the wealthy, the well off, the well—connected millionaires and billionaires, not working—class people all across america. the bill that is before us today is part of an effort to shut down the government. unless we, as representatives of the american people bend to the will ofjust a handful of millionaires and billionaires. our north america correspondent peter bowes sent this update. it is a race against time

with the hours ticking away. if there isn't an agreement by the end of friday the government shutdown would start at the beginning of the weekend. that is the last thing many americans wanted to hear, the weekend before christmas and especially those federal workers who may still have to go to work but face the prospect of not being paid. and who knows how long this would go on for? but there is still some hope, there is still the possibility that there could be an agreement. it would likely involve some compromise perhaps on both sides, republicans and democrats. this was the second version of a bill that there was initially some agreement on. it was a bipartisan bill so there was an agreement on both sides. but donald trump and especially elon musk spoke out very strongly against it. then came along the second version, donald trump insisted on this extra clause that would involve the suspension of the debt ceiling, that is the amount of money that the federal government can borrow to fund services.

the democrats say that they believe donald trump want this to give him a free reign over the first couple of years of his administration to cut taxes, which democrats say would benefit the better off in this country and would lead to an increase in the federal deficit. so there is still some hope, but it will involve potentially compromise that won't look good for donald trump if that clause is dropped. it also doesn't bode well, perhaps been a sticky start in terms of donald trump's next administration and his relationship with congress. we are keeping an eye on that. france's president macron has praised the dignity and trial in which her ex—husband and fifty other defendants were found guilty.

in a social media post this morning, mr macron said she had "moved and inspired france and the world." dominique pelicot was jailed for twenty years for organising the repeated drugging and rape of his then wife by dozens of strangers over a decade. under french law the men have ten days to decide if they will appeal against the convictions. chris bockman is in avignon. i asked him how many men are expected to appeal their sentences. overnight two have announced they are appealing, which means they would have a retrial within two years. they had ten days and with christmas and new year coming up their lawyers are talking to them and i suspect there will be more making appeals as well. they have ten days to do it. the risk for them in france, if they do appeal and they lose then the sentence can be raised. so far, since the verdict and sentencing yesterday, two have said they are not rapists and the judges were under pressure from the media and from women's groups and basically gave them sentences that they said was unfair.

they said they were not rapists and they were lured to dominique pelicot�*s home and were told his unconscious wife agreed to have sex. of course, that is something which the court did not agree to and all 50 were found guilty and charge. at least two so far have decided to appeal and there will be a retrial. malaysia has accepted a proposal to resume the search for the wreckage of missing flight mh370. the malaysia airlines jet carrying 239 people vanished in 2014. despite an extensive search of coastlines and the ocean floor, neither the aircraft, nor the people on board, were found. let's speak to our asia business correspondent sura njana tewari. just tell us about what this search will potentially mean? that is right, mh370, just to

remind viewers was the boeing 777jet remind viewers was the boeing 777 jet that departed kuala lumpur in march 2014 to beijing. 239 people were on board. it lost contact with air traffic control less than an hour after take—off. malaysia's government says it is negotiating terms and conditions with oshan infinity to search for the wreckage. there have been plenty of searches over the years to find the wreckage. that ended unsuccessfully after three months. apparently the company is more confident this time around, according to malaysia's transport minister. that is because the new search area in this southern indian ocean will be larger than what was previously search. the firm will only receive a fee if the

wreckage found it substantive. and the multinational effort ended back in 2017 and cost $150 million after two years of scouring vast waters. what it means ten years on is just something for the families, really and that is something that malaysia's transport minister said was the reason for them resuming the search. all 227 passages on 12 crew members of the flight are presumed dead.— members of the flight are resumed dead. ., t, presumed dead. have we heard from the families _ presumed dead. have we heard from the families of— presumed dead. have we heard from the families of all- presumed dead. have we heard from the families of all those i from the families of all those who were never found? from the families of all those who were neverfound? h0 who were never found? no resnonse _ who were never found? no resnonse yet _ who were never found? iiif? response yet to the resumption of this search. but they have tried to get the government and other governments as well, especially because there were so many nationalities on board, as well as chinese, australian, malaysian, of course as well.

they have also gone after boeing, rolls—royce who made the engines and even insurance companies. investigators generally agree that the plane did crash somewhere in the southern indian ocean. although it is unclear as to why that happened. pieces of debris believed to be from the plane have washed up on shores of the indian ocean in the years after the disappearance. of course, there has been a host of conspiracy theories and investigators only say that if the wreckage is found at they are able to really substantiate some of those claims.- are able to really substantiate some of those claims. thank you some of those claims. thank you so much- — some of those claims. thank you so much- i— some of those claims. thank you so much- i do — some of those claims. thank you so much. i do remember- some of those claims. thank you so much. i do remember the - so much. i do remember the night the plane went missing, absolutely extraordinary. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news.

lord mandelson is expected to be formally confirmed as the uk's next ambassador to the united states today. peter mandelson was a former cabinet minister in the governments of tony blair and gordon brown, and is seen as the architect of labour's landslide victory in 1997. he'll take up his new role as donald trump enters the white house. here's our political correspondent helen catt. peter mandelson has been a familiar face in the labour party for decades. he was one of the driving forces behind the creation of new labour in the 1990s, a trusted adviser to tony blair with a reputation as a master of spin. he'd been rumoured as a potential candidate for a while, but had been cagey when asked about being the ambassador. would you be interested if you were asked? - i would be very interested, indeed, in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed. elected as the mp for hartlepool in 1992,

peter mandelson went on to serve in tony blair's cabinet, but was forced to resign twice. in the noughties, he went to brussels as the european trade commissioner before returning as business secretary under gordon brown. it's his experience of trade that is one of the reasons behind his appointment as ambassador. donald trump has talked of imposing big tariffs on imports into the us, which the prime minister yesterday told mps the uk needed to avoid. it won't come as any surprise to you that i'm not a fan of tariffs. and, therefore, we have to make sure that we avoid tariffs. we've got very good trade with the us as we've got very good trade with other countries around the world. i want to improve on that. a government source said that lord mandelson was close to the prime minister, with unrivalled political and policy experience, particularly on the crucial issue of trade. it's also thought his political nous will help him handle what could be a tricky

relationship with an unpredictable president. one thing that is a certainty with the trump government is in that sam tweet storm that comes most mornings of the week. at some point, trump will say something, will tweet something that will be quite a story in the uk — he did so several times in his first term. so peter mandelson, i am sure, will be prepared for that and be prepared for a bumpy and difficult ride. but he clearly wanted thejob very much, so i'd say good luck to him. not everyone is going to welcome this appointment. peter mandelson remains divisive within labour, particularly for those on the left of the party. but it is how he gets on with donald trump and his administration that will really matter. he and the white house had already been told about the appointment. helen catt, bbc news. well, as you heard earlier, lord mandelson is a divisive figure even within his own labour party — here's our political correspondent ben wright with more.

yes, those on the left of the labour party don't like peter mandelson. they think he was a svengali that modernise the party, ripped it away from its roots. he would have argued that he made them electable again in the mid—905. but he is a divisive figure within the labour party. but as you say, it is a political appointment. that is what is interesting, the prime minister could have chosen a serving career diplomat. this is the big job and does around the world working for the uk would love to have. but keir starmer has decided to appoint peter mandelson to the role. it is the first time since 1977 when peter callaghan appointed peterjay to washington that we have seen a political appointment like this. that reflects peter mandelson�*s own experience as a trade minister, as an eu trade negotiator. as helen said, the issue of trade

and tariffs and what the trump administration is going to do will be a crucial part of his early work in washington, but i think for president trump who really values personal relationships, sending someone to washington who is clearly very, very close to the key people in number ten within downing street, will, i think, look to them like a smart move, it will help to curry favour with the trump white house and i think it might make communications between lord mandelson and number ten over these issues from the crucial trade with china that bit easier. it is not an unblemished political record peter mandelson has. he did, in quick succession clock up two big political resignations in the early years of the blair government. once because he was accused of trying to help an indian billionaire access a british passport. he was later cleared in a subsequent

investigation but he also resigned after accepting a loan from the then paymaster general to buy a house in notting hill in west london. peter mandelson loves the good life, he's got lots of money very wealthy friends, he's very well connected. all of that, all of that past will be looked at again by people as he is made ambassador to washington. once that is confirmed we will bring that to you. still in the uk, as tomorrow's deadline to qualify for winter fuel payments looms, there are calls for the cut—off to be extended, over fears that many will be made to wait for their money. age uk has warned tens of thousands of pensioners are unlikely to receive the payment before the end of the year, because of a growing backlog of claims. our correspondent aruna iyengar has more. since 1997, the winter fuel allowance has been a lifeline for many pensioners.

but after the government announced in july that the payment would go only to those receiving pension credit, there's been a surge in first time applications. now there are calls for the government to extend tomorrow's deadline. the government have made this awful decision to slash winter fuel payments. what we're saying is that the least they can do is to make sure that everybody possible who could qualify for pension credit and qualify for winter fuel payments has the opportunity to do so. and we're saying it's a very straightforward thing. let's just extend the deadline just to make sure that nobody is missing out due to lack of time. the charity age uk states it's already too late. they say there's a three—month wait for pension credit claims to be processed, and has been inundated with requests for help. we know that many of those claims will be successful, but, unfortunately, some won't be. and for some older people, they still haven't heard about pension credit or the form is too overwhelming. and there is help available, but, of course, the system

is overwhelmed at the moment. there were 91,000 unprocessed claims for pension credit in mid—november. the government brought in around 500 extra staff to process applications to help deal with demand. around 9,000 claims are being processed each week and that's double the amount being processed in august. the prime minister said most pensioners will soon be in a better financial position. a pensioner, as it were, a year ago, facing the winter, even with the winter fuel allowance, will not be as well off as a pensioner after the £460, £470 next april. but that is only because we can maintain the triple lock. will this policy be a hit or miss? politicians talk of tough choices, but it's the elderly who are deciding whether to turn the thermostat up or down. aruna iyengar, bbc news. last night was the final night of sir paul mccartney's tour and he had a treat for his fans, when he welcomed his former beatles band—mate

sir ringo starr to the stage, while playing to a packed crowd at london's o2 arena. # sarrjim pattison�*s lonely. sergeant tatrb's lonely the pair then performed lonely their hit sgt pepper's lonely hearts club band. the beatles�* drummer said he'd had a great night as he said goodbye to fans. we are going to end the programme with a live shot from damascus where friday prayers are taking place. this is under the new leadership of syria, of the new leadership of syria, of the hts leadership. hello. a band of rain is pushing its way eastwards across the uk today. the rain associated with an area of low pressure and this cloud on the satellite picture. it's not the only low, though,

in the north atlantic. further west, we've got a more powerful system developing just here, and that's going to be bringing somevery strong winds to parts of the uk this weekend, potentially disrupting some of your christmas travel plans. now, we started off with rain today across scotland and northern ireland, but the afternoon here looking a lot brighter, sunshine and blustery showers as our rain band works its way eastwards across england and wales. temperatures around eight to ten degrees and it will be quite windy. gusts reaching around 40mph—odd for the western side of scotland. that rain clears through overnight but then clear spells for a time. the next area of rain works in later in the night, accompanied by some really quite strong winds. and it's on saturday that we'll see this next area of low pressure really flex its muscles, bringing some particularly windy weather to north—western areas of the uk, and especially parts of north—west scotland, where for parts of the hebrides, the orkney islands, parts of highland, we'll likely see gusts of wind reaching around 70mph to 80mph, maybe even a bit stronger than this. winds this strong will cause some transport disruption and could bring down some trees as well. and elsewhere across

the north west of the uk, the winds strong enough to cause one or two issues as well. weather—wise, elsewhere we see a band of rain clearing southeastwards on saturday, followed by sunshine and blustery showers. the showers most frequent across the northwest of the uk, and it will be cold enough for some hail and a bit of wintriness over some of the highest mountains as well. heading into sunday, the same area of low pressure is still on our weather charts. it's going to be another windy day. if anything, the winds a little bit more widespread. gusts of around 50mph to 60mph, but still 70 for parts of western scotland. again strong enough to bring some localised disruption in terms of the fact that we could see some tree branches being brought down. still a blustery day with plenty of showers around, with hail and some sleet mixed in with those showers and temperatures six or seven celsius. it will be a colder feeling day, especially when you factor in those winds. once that windy zone of weather is out of the way, though, next week it turns very mild in the run—up to christmas, with temperatures often well

into double figures.

welcome back. this is bbc news, the headlines. american diplomats are in damascus for talks with members of hts, the group now in charge of syria, which the us

still designates as terrorists. a us government shutdown looms, as 38 republicans are among lawmakers who've rejected a spending bill backed by donald trump. england's local councils are to receive nearly £1.6 billion of funding set aside to fix potholes. welcome back. a bbc investigation reveals that the myanmar military now only has full control of less than a quarter of the territory, nearly four years after seizing power ina coup. a patchwork of resistance groups and ethnic armies now have full control over more than 40% and the rest is mostly contested. for over a year, bbc eye has been following one of the rebel units ? and reveals that spies in the military are helping the resistance. rebecca henschke reports. this pro—democracy rebel unit is preparing to attack.

their leader daeva has received intelligence from a spy inside the military — the enemy camp. translation: we've been told about their capabilities, - where their reinforcements will come from and which route they will use to withdraw. our strategy is to mentally pressure the enemy day and night.